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stab
[ stab ]
/ stæb /
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verb (used with object), stabbed, stab·bing.
verb (used without object), stabbed, stab·bing.
to thrust with or as if with a knife or other pointed weapon: to stab at an attacker.
to deliver a wound, as with a pointed weapon.
noun
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Idioms about stab
a stab in the back, an act of treachery.
stab (someone) in the back, to do harm to (someone), especially to a friend or to a person who is unsuspecting or in a defenseless position.
Origin of stab
First recorded in 1435–45 for the noun, and in 1525–35 for the verb; Middle English (Scots ) noun stab, stabbe, stappe, of uncertain origin; compare Scots stob “needle, large needle”; verb from the noun
OTHER WORDS FROM stab
re·stab, verb, re·stabbed, re·stab·bing.un·stabbed, adjectiveWords nearby stab
S star, Ssu-ma Ch'ien, SSW, st, sta., stab, Stabat Mater, stabbing, stabile, stabilimeter, stability
Other definitions for stab (2 of 2)
stab.
abbreviation
stabilization.
stabilizer.
stable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use stab in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for stab
stab
/ (stæb) /
verb stabs, stabbing or stabbed
noun
Derived forms of stab
stabber, nounWord Origin for stab
C14: from stabbe stab wound; probably related to Middle English stob stick
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with stab
stab
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.